


Fever Dream

by WickedWitchoftheWilds



Series: Project Olympus [8]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Begging, F/M, Fire, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmare, Pain, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26618362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedWitchoftheWilds/pseuds/WickedWitchoftheWilds
Summary: Maggie's powers flare during a nightmare and she asks Akksul to do the one thing he won't.
Relationships: Akksul (Mass Effect)/Original Character(s), Akksul/Maggie
Series: Project Olympus [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1036232
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Fever Dream

Maggie woke to the fire and flames crackling outside of her door. The bedroom of her childhood room greeted her when she opened her eyes. But she knew it wasn’t real. It was the same dream she had been having for years. When she was younger, she fought against her own mind, trying to escape the encroaching fire. It never worked. Now she didn’t bother.

But she wasn’t prepared for the screams.

When she had healed, Maggie had pored over the reports on the fire. She knew her parents and two of her siblings died from smoke inhalation. They were already dead by the time the fire burned their bodies until they were unrecognizable. Yet here they were, screaming for her to save them.

_It’s not real._

Maggie clapped her hands over her ears, but the screams echoed in her mind.

_This isn’t how it happened._

Sweat beaded along her hairline and began to drip down her face. The heat was suffocating. The dreams never felt like this before. _Maybe it’s real._ The flames were moving across the floors and walls like liquid. It was coming for her. For the first time, she was afraid. And she was unsure that it was a dream.

Maggie’s eyes darted to the window. She pushed herself up from the bed and tried to swing her legs to the floor, but something jerked them back. Looking down, she saw the sheets tangled around her legs like a vise. With panic setting in and making chest feel tight, she tugged at the sheets. As soon as she pulled her legs free, she launched herself off the bed. Her knees hit the floor first and she cursed. The floor was cool despite the fire that coming for her.

“Maggie!” Hands settled on her shoulders.

She turned around, ready to swing, but Akksul was kneeling beside her. His hands were on her shoulders. Worry and sleep were etched into his face. So it was a dream after all. The comforting darkness of his room replaced the fiery room of before. But Maggie was still hot. It felt like magma was coursing through her veins.

She was flaring again.

Emma had told her it was possible for the flares to happen for a while at first. But she had hoped they wouldn’t. It was her body trying to reconcile her powers with her own human nature. Even with Emma’s DNA, it was difficult. Maggie had limits. There was only so much her body could take. And if she couldn’t get it fully under control, it was going to kill her.

She whimpered as the skin of her forearm began to tear open, the fire breaking out of her body. In that instant, Akksul had her in his arms and he was carrying her to the bathroom attached to his room. It always amazed her that she never burned him. Even So-Hee had suffered minor burns from helping Maggie. But Akksul was immune to her. Neither of them understood it. Thankfully, right now, they didn’t need to.

Hot tears burned their way down her cheeks. She couldn’t take much more of this. This couldn’t keep happening. Her fingers twisted in the fabric of Akksul’s shirt. “Please,” she whimpered. “Please, make it stop.”

The lights to bathroom flickered on when they entered and Akksul stepped into the shower. He cradled her against him with one hand so he could turn the spray on. He turned the knob until the water coming out of the showerhead was ice cold. With his other arm back under her to secure her to his chest, he sat down on the floor, angling her so the cold water could douse her.

The fire in her recoiled, but it still burned underneath her skin, determined to stay as long as it could. She felt like she might implode. She just wanted the pain to end. It didn’t matter how. “Kill me,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “I can’t—” her voice broke.

Akksul tightened his grip on her, holding her as close to his chest as he could. “Please don’t ask that of me,” he murmured into her hair. “I won’t.”

The minutes it took to finally cool her off, were agonizing. Once, her core temperature had lowered, her skin began to knit itself back together. Akksul held her while she sobbed into his shoulder. The pain was always unbearable. She couldn’t take this for the rest of her life. And it would be a short one with no control over her power.

Akksul brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She could feel him staring at her intently, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. Maybe he was regretting being involved with her. After all, she had just asked him to kill her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his tone even and soft.

The question sent her over the edge again, and she hid her face in his chest until the hiccupping sobs stopped. Akksul didn’t ask again. He didn’t say anything at all. He just gently rocked her like she was a child.

_This isn’t fair_.

These weren’t the kinds of things they should have to deal with. Andromeda threw enough shit at them already. A break would’ve been nice. A chance to just be with Akksul without worrying about Roekkar, or Cerberus, or her powers. She just wanted…normal.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said, pulling away but not looking at him.

“This isn’t your fault, Maggie,” he reassured her. “There is nothing to be sorry for.”

She sniffed. “Normal people aren’t like this,” she argued. “Why didn’t you pick someone normal?”

The question was rhetorical, but he answered it anyway. “Because I liked you.” He kissed her temple.

Maggie sagged against him. She was so tired. But she was afraid to fall back asleep. Carefully, Akksul stood up with her still secure in his arms and shut off the shower. He carried her back into the bedroom and sat her down on the edge of the bed. Lifting her arms over her head, he coaxed her out of her wet clothes and wrapped her in a towel.

She watched as he opened her overnight bag to grab a spare change of clothes. With her track record, she was always prepared with multiple changes. He set the clothes down beside her before he walked over to his closet to change out of his own wet clothes. Akksul kept his back to her while she slowly pulled shorts and a tank top on. When she was done, he helped her dry her hair with the towel.

“I don’t know if I can go back to sleep,” she said.

“I’m right here,” he promised. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Together they climbed back into bed, and Akksul pulled her to his chest. She didn’t understand why he wanted her around. But she was glad of it. She didn’t want to be alone.

Despite her earlier declaration, Maggie was asleep in a matter of minutes. Flares always took so much of her energy. The fire was abated, quiet…

For now.

**Author's Note:**

> All kudos, comments, and bookmarks are loved! 
> 
> You should totally come hang out with me on [Tumblr!](https://wickedwitchofthewilds.tumblr.com)
> 
> And you can follow me on Twitter @WildsWicked


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